October 2018 01 Distributed on the first Sunday of the calendar month

Also available at www.netherleechurch.org &

www.stamperlandchurch..co.uk/home & by email on request.

Registered Charity Nos SC003155 & SC 015303

CONNECTIONS The joint magazine of Netherlee & Stamperland Parish Churches

Netherlee

Stamperland

2.

Welcome to your new Church Magazine covering both Netherlee and Stamperland

Churches.

It is hoped that many of the previous features of the past magazines will continue, but

for some, it was time to put them to bed. There will no more external advertising and

lists of duties or contact details, but you will have full colour throughout and perhaps a

greater variety of articles as we both enjoy each church’s events, possibly unknown be-

fore.

The new name reflects where we are today and distribution dates, in the case of

Stamperland, have reverted to the first Sunday of the month. For those of you who are

not regular contributors, the submission dates have also been changed as the maga-

zine is being produced by a printer who has deadlines to be met, so a little bit of forward

thinking may be needed for that announcement, thank you, dates of meetings and

events etc.

Regular submission dates will become available once production has settled down but

for now the input deadline for November will be Monday 15th October for distribution on

Sunday 4th November. Articles will be accepted for that edition from 1st October .

Please bear with the magazine team whilst it is bedded in over the coming months.

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find us and follow us on

An opportunity for busy young families on a Sunday afternoon in Netherlee

Church from 4-6pm to experience Church through games, crafts and activities; as well

as something to eat as a family. OK to drop in at the last

minute! Proposed dates for the 2018/19 session are

Sunday 18th November / 20th January / 3rd March.

SAVE THESE DATES NOW!

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Shorts

"Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of

those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your

husbands."

A Message from the Editor Fraser Neilson

3. 3.

When I was a boy, this was the month to go down into the near-by glen and trail around the various chestnut trees and look for conkers. There was one tree that I remember had the habit of turning colour before any of the other trees. It was always a vibrant orange within its leaves before many of the other trees nearby had begun to be affected by the Autumnal blaze of glory. It was a warning for us that the seasons were about to change.

The coming of Autumn is just another transition throughout the year as we flow from winter to spring to summer then to autumn. Our lives follow this cyclical pattern and in so many ways our lives are cyclical too – how many times have we found ourselves repeating a mistake that we always tell our-selves we are never going to do again?

Strangely, this Autumn Season (which sees the end of our calendar year approaching) is the time where we gear up for a whole new year of activity in the lives of our churches. In the same way, we begin this new joint ven-ture of a combined monthly magazine. The whole purpose of which, it is hoped that we might learn from each other and share the important events in our lives together. This magazine will be focussed on our new joint shar-ing in ministry between our two parishes. It is hoped that this magazine will be the place where we might share important dates and events together so that both congregations might benefit from either church’s plans and activi-ties.

So, I commend this magazine to you, and yes, for those of you who might be worried, where there is space there will be some jokes to enjoy! I also want to thank Fraser Neilson for acting as our first editor and I would wel-come any others, especially from Netherlee, who might be willing to help with the monthly editing and production of this magazine. I also encourage those of you who like to take walks for families, bike rides for families, or trips to nice places that others might enjoy, to write about them, to take a photo and to send them to Fraser.

Equally, those of you who have other interests that might be shared – please write an article and forward them to Fraser. The more we have the more we can guarantee continued success to this new ‘Connections’ mag-azine.

Finally, we hold the whole project before God, asking always for God’s blessing on this magazine, on our continued working together and our wor-ship throughout the Autumn and the year ahead.

Peace be with you! - Scott

Our Minister’s Message Reverend Scott Blythe

4.

Death

Joined by Certificate

Change of Address

The annual subscriptions for Life & Work have been advised

to us for 2019. Would those members who receive their copies

by way of the Church, please get in touch with Kay Bolton as soon as practi-

cable to confirm continuation of the subscription, or advise otherwise.

The annual cost for a subscription will be £30.60 – this amounts to a 25p

saving on the price of each edition of Life & Work.

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The End Is Nigh-er Than You Thought

A priest and a pastor are standing by the side of a road holding up a sign that reads “The end is near! Turn around now before it’s too late!”

A passing driver yells, “You guys are nuts!” and speeds past them. From around the curve, they hear screeching tires—then a big splash.

The priest turns to the pastor and says, “Do you think we should just put up a sign that says ‘Bridge Out’ instead?”

Changes to the Roll—Netherlee Mabel Bell

Date Name Locality District Elder

xx/8/18 Mr R Barron Netherlee 60 A Mann

21/8/18 Mrs M Stewart Netherlee 16 P Hamilton

2/9/19 Mrs M Souter Netherlee 58 D Kerr

No Name Locality District Elder

6585 Mrs E Clark Netherlee 31 A Johnston

No Name Locality District Elder

6319 Mrs K Cooper Netherlee to 75 M Bell

Life & Work 2019 Subscriptions Stamperland

Kay Bolton

5.

Joint Kirk Session Meeting

Following the linkage of the 2 congregations the decision was taken that the 6 main meetings of the Kirk Sessions would be joint ones in alternating ven-ues.

The first joint meeting took place on Monday 3 September in Netherlee start-ing the new session with Communion before settling down to the business of the evening.

The principal discussion topic was our “Strategy for Mission and plans for the future”. The Moderator recapped on the recently issued letter to all member households in each congregation. The idea was for every member to have the opportunity if they so wished to be part of the process of planning for the future over the next 9/10 months. The meetings in October will begin the pro-cess with us identifying the history of both congregations and identifying sig-nificant events that have influenced our congregations and individuals. This would allow people to articulate their memories in a non threatening way. Friezes of the collage would be set up in the Halls with members of the Stra-tegic Planning group on hand to help with any questions that may be raised.

The Moderator then asked the Sessions in small groups to discuss any feed-back so far, on the changes to worship services. There was no negative feedback. There were however a few comments from both Sessions:-

1. The 45 minute services had worked well over the summer but there was no introit or anthem yet at Netherlee, which may prove challenging once they started in the autumn.

2. Stamperland thought the 10.00 am start was too early for some people and 11.30 am was too late for others. The idea of tea/coffee before the 11.30 am service had not worked.

3. Concern was expressed by Netherlee over the effect, longer term, on the Minister of holding 2 services. He responded by saying he was quite comfortable taking the 2 services each Sunday.

4. Stamperland stated having tea/coffee after the 11.30 am service was their preferred option.

5. Many members at Stamperland had been concerned that services might be shared on a 6 monthly basis in each church and had been relieved when it was resolved to hold the 2 services every Sunday, one in Netherlee and one in Stamperland. PTO

Session Clerk Netherlee John Montgomery

6.

The reports for noting from both Sessions on Fabric, Finance, The Roll, Sub Committees and correspondence were all accepted and approved subject to the following:-

For Stamperland :- Health and Safety. The front steps leading to the sanc-tuary were badly eroded and constituted a safety hazard. The meeting was advised that the Fabric Committee had the matter in hand.

The Audio Visual system. The meeting was advised by the Clerk that the current system needed to be replaced. Two quotations had been received and after an explanation of what was proposed the meeting approved the recommendation to proceed at a cost of £11,500.

For Netherlee:-

PVG Matters. A verbal report was presented by Mike Buchan.

Communion Roll. Since the report had been issued 2 further members had died. The Roll Keeper advised that the Congregational Roll at 3 September stood at 585.

All previous minutes were approved There was no other business and it was resolved that the next joint meeting would be held on Monday 5 November at 7.30 pm in Stamperland

The meeting finished at 8.15 pm which the writer noted was a record (at least for Netherlee) as the shortest ever main Session meeting.

May I mention that the presentation of 2 Communion Chalices to St Andrew's Scots Kirk in Colombo, Sri lanka, by Netherlee Church was gratefully re-ceived by Gillian Mailler on their behalf, as a member of their Kirk Session. They would be suitably dedicated by the Interim Moderator once she and her husband Eric returned to Colombo. The presentation was made to celebrate Netherlee' s 90th Anniversary.

May I also mention the Service of Linkage on Thursday 6 September by Glasgow Presbytery in Netherlee Church, when they formally recognised the Linking of the 2 congregations. It was a tad formal but the order of service, readings and the sermon were very appropriate on 2 churches coming to-gether.

If I have one disappointment it would be that the attendance from both churches was abysmal. End

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Exciting Palindromes

The topic for my ninth-grade class was palindromes, words or sentenc-es that are the same read forward and backward. I asked the question "What is the first thing Adam said to Eve?" I was expecting the answer "Madam, I’m madam," but one student had a better reply: "Wow."

7.

There have been several uplifts of food over the summer months totalling 116kg.

If you would prefer to donate any of the other items from the East Renfrewshire List please refer to the list as shown. If you are unable to carry heavy items please do not be deterred from donating, there are always lighter options available on the list.

Thank you again for your continued sup-port which is very much appreciated. Again we would ask that items donated are within the “best before” date. The Foodbank will not distribute food which is out of date.

After consultation with the members of the Book Club we have

decided that we will be reviewing “Phoebe” by Paula Gooder, We will be

meeting at 17 Ormonde Avenue on 2nd November at 8.00pm.

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Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions.

She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

Donations requested for October

Sugar, Dried pasta,

Pasta Sauces

Breakfast Cereal/Porridge Oats

Tea Bags/Instant Coffee (not decaffein-

ated)

Ladies/Gents toiletries including ladies

sanitary products.

UHT Milk and Creamed Rice or Custard

(Tinned) are accepted at any time.

ER. Foodbank Stamperland

Parish & Beyond Committee

Netherlee Book Club

Sheena Wurtherman

8.

A young and successful executive was travelling down a neighbourhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids dart-ing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car, and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do" He pleaded. I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."

With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me." Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheel-chair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driv-er never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

"Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

The Brick

9.

Your Pastoral Care Team are here for you. If you need ;

Transport to Church Hospital

Doctors Appointment Shopping

Could do with a chat Have a prayer request

A few months ago, we introduced a Library service to you, and this month would like to

commend this to you again. Kay is able and willing to exchange your library book, assist

you with future choices of your favourite authors, or like authors. Additionally, she can

provide listening books and large print books. If you are not already a member of the

library Kay will happily see to this for you. With winter coming in, why not make use of

this great service? We hope you will.

Remember that we are only a phone call away to help you with shopping, getting to

Church, hospital and doctor’s appointments and any other assistance that we can help

you with.

Pastoral Care

Please contact Grace Scott, 0141 637 2226

10.

The Glasgow Lament And where is the tramcar that once did a ton

Doon the Great Western Road on the old Yoker run? The conductress aye knew how to deal wi the nyaff,

'If yer gaun, then get oan, if yer no' then get aff!' The tram's squeelin' wheel flanges aye made a great fuss,

Wi' weird clickin'noises no' found on a bus'

The conductress wis cheeky an'fu' o' the chaff' Shoutin', 'Hurry up, mister, Cummoangetaff!' 'Move doon the caur noo, there's plenty o' room,

You'll aw get a seat afore we hit the toon' Nae smokin' doon here, pal, only up tap,

Pit oot that fag, haud oan tae yer strap!'

Fae Dalmuir an' Barrheid way oot tae the west

Tae Airdrie and Uddingston as good as the rest. Passengers fae Clydebank or tough Govan men,

Folks from oot Riddrie and old Rutherglen. They aw used the trams, it is a dead shame,

The caurs are awa', but left is their fame.

Ah fair miss the clippies, aw hard as nails' An' the pennies ah bent oan the auld tramway rails

Ah think o' these days o'ma tenement hame,

We've noo fancy hooses, but they're no' jist the same, Ah'll swop yer gizunders, flyovers and jams,

Fur a tuppenny ride on an auld Glesca tram.

11.

Following the success of the first Christmas Tree Festival, planning is well underway for

this year’s event, which will take place in the Church on Saturday 8th December be-

tween 2pm – 4pm. We’re hoping it will be even bigger and better! Refreshments will be

served in the large hall throughout the event.

Last year showcased the creative talents of many of the organisations that use the

Church premises. Will the 1st Netherlee Guides defend their title?

We are hoping for a fantastic display of trees and would encourage many people from

the congregation and the local area to come along on the day to enjoy the festival.

It’s an ideal activity to build into your organisation’s programme planning for the next

session. Here are a few more details;

Trees can be either 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional.

Small or large in size, real or artificial – if you’re considering a large display please bear

in mind constraints such as the height of the Church roof. We’re not trying to compete

against the Trafalgar Square tree!

Any tree lights should be battery operated.

Access to the Church to set up your tree will be from 11.30am on Saturday 8th Decem-

ber. Trees can be collected or dismantled from 4pm onwards.

The theme of your tree is up to you – the more creative the better. You might want to

link your decorations to your organisation.

This is a great opportunity to get creative and have some fun.

Please email the Church office office@netherleechurch.org by Friday 16th November

to confirm that your organisation is taking part.

Nearer the time we will provide a card that we will ask you to fill in with the name of the

organisation, a little bit about what you do and your chosen theme. The cards will be

displayed with your tree.

Lastly, there are prizes to be won! We are hoping for a good turn out from members of

the congregation to see the display and will be inviting people to vote for their favourites

on the day. End

Christmas Tree Festival Netherlee

The Children and Youth Ministry Committee

12.

The Wisdom of the Crowd

It is a privilege to have an article published in the first ever edition of Con-nections. Church magazines have long been important not just in the provi-sion of congregational news and comment but also in the creation of archive material recording events in our churches and communities and our reac-tions to them. Traditionally, church magazines have been printed on paper and often delivered by hand to a member’s home. Now, church websites enable instant access to magazines along with regular updates on news and events. Youth organisations use social media to highlight events, activities and achievements and to keep parents informed rather than articles in the magazine. So does our new magazine have a long-term future? I believe it has - as long as we have people willing to contribute articles and we accept the challenge of adapting to changing circumstances, possibly by having more and more content available on-line rather than just on paper.

Crucially, just now, both of our churches are looking at the questions, “What is the role of our churches in Netherlee and Stamperland? What should we be doing?”. In historical terms it isn’t that long ago since the Church of Scot-land was responsible for schooling and education; for the support of the des-titute; for the support of the orphans. The provision of education and welfare is now seen as the province of the state. Until quite recently many churches supported playgroups for pre-school children; now pre-school is a state-run activity. Much of what the church used to do has been taken over by others.

We can all remember when churches had coffee mornings just about every Saturday. These could be fund-raising events or simply social events. Now such happenings are few and far between. It is not that people have stopped drinking coffee – just look at the proliferation of outlets serving cof-fee in our neighbourhood. Rather, there have been significant societal changes and our churches have been left behind.

Our minister, Scott, is keen that our churches are clear about what we should or could do to serve our communities of Netherlee and Stamperland. Maybe we should simply continue to do what we currently do; perhaps we need to change a little bit; perhaps we require to implement drastic changes. Whatever, we need to find out.

There is an interesting phenomenon called the “Wisdom of the Crowd”. A good example relates to a country fair in America where those attending were asked to estimate the weight of a bull. Some people guessed ridicu-lously high or low weights; some farmers probably estimated fairly accurate-ly; the key outcome, however, was that the average of the weight estimated

Session Clerk Stamperland

Norrie Bolton

13.

by a crowd of over 800 people was within one per cent of the true figure. Provided a sufficiently large number of people are questioned, the answer produced by “the crowd” is generally accurate.

Opinion polls look to sample the views of approximately 1,000 people and, most of the time, their findings are realistic. The combined membership of Netherlee and Stamperland is almost 900 so getting the views of each and every member should provide a good basis of evidence. Add to this the views from representatives from non-church organisations and groups within our parishes and we should have a sample size of over a thousand – certain-ly sufficient to ensure that the “collected wisdom” is valid and representative.

Your views on those aspects of community life on which the church should focus are important. If we don’t hear from you we lose something vital and we could go off on a wrong track. Please check “Connections” for more detail regarding the planned events – and also the church websites! Your view re-ally does count.

We started on Friday the 7th September and were lucky enough to welcome all of our boys back from last year and also welcomed 9 new boys into our ranks. This takes our total number to around 36. This is a good number for our Section and shows that we are doing something right at the 231st. We have grown from 21 two years ago to 36 now, which is a testament to all of our staff who work so hard to provide a fun and stimulating programme for our boys.

This year the 231st celebrates its 75th anniversary in Stamperland Church. Although the Junior Section and Anchor Boys were started after this we are still looking forward to celebrating this year with a number of events which will be slightly different than usual.

Over the coming weeks and months I hope to be telling you about more new recruits and more adult staff members. At the moment we are starting to be-come a little light in ‘experienced’ heads and I have started to have some initial conversations regarding others helping on a Friday evening. If you know of anyone who might be interested in helping out with the BB, or joining our Section as a boy, please encourage them to get in touch. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Shorts

Weight Watchers will meet at 7:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance. The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.

231st Boy’s Brigade Junior Section & Sparks

Scott Russell

14.

We have begun our 83rd year helping young people throughout the area to learn, grow and develop. Last session we were delighted to receive a certifi-cate from the Chair of BB Scotland congratulating us on another year of growth and are further encouraged to have started back for 2018/19 with more boys in every section compared to the corresponding point from the year before. However there’s still room for growth in all sections. With your help we can fill them all.

The Anchor Boys (P1-P3) returned to action on 27 August, continuing until the beginning of June. The boys meet from 6pm-7pm on Monday nights at Netherlee Parish Church. Please contact Officer in Charge Alistair Haw to secure your place alistairhaw@yahoo.co.uk or 07343521928

The Junior Section (P4-P6) returned on 28 August, continu-ing until the end of May. The boys meet from 7pm – 8.45pm on Tuesday nights at Netherlee Parish Church. Please contact Officer in Charge Caroline Watson Sweeney to secure your place 07475 16516.carolinews1969@gmail.com

The Company Section (P7-S6)

returned on 7 September, continuing until May – with a week-long summer camp in July at Tighnabruaich, the site of the first BB camp in 1886. The boys meet from 7pm-10pm at Netherlee Parish Church. Please contact Officer in Charge George Cowan to secure your place 07917 592 667 or;

g.cowan386@btinternet.com

At officer training leaders are made

278th Glasgow Company The Boy’s Brigade

Alastair Haw

15.

acutely aware of the unique mission of the Boys’ Brigade and our duty to comply with it. We cannot just bury the bag of gold coins in the ground. With the support of the Netherlee and Stamperland congregations we know we can secure the required interest.

You can follow Netherlee Boys Brigade on facebook@netherleeboysbrigade

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY: Glasgow 278’s annual coffee morning and Christmas Fair will take place in Netherlee Parish Church from 10am-12pm on Saturday 24 November. More details to follow.

Now that I'm older, here's what I've discovered:

1. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.

2. My wild oats are mostly enjoyed with prunes and all-bran.

3. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

4. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

5. If all is not lost, then where the heck is it?

6. It was a whole lot easier to get older, than it was to get wiser.

7. Some days, you're the top dog, some days you're the hydrant.

8. I wish the buck really did stop here; I sure could use a few of them.

9. It is hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.

10. The world only beats a path to your door when you're in the

bathroom.

Fun for All

16.

I do hope that everyone enjoyed the wonderful weather we have had over the summer months.

It is now time to think about the Guild winter programme. Our syllabus for the next few weeks is as follows:

By the time you receive this copy of Connections we will already have had our first meeting. The Rev Scott Blythe spoke to the ladies of Stamperland and Netherlee Guilds jointly, at Stamperland, on the Guild Theme “One Journey Many Roads” year one “Seeking the Way”. He concluded the evening leading us in Commun-ion.

If you wish to come on our evening outing to the Strathaven Gift & Coffee Shop please speak to a committee member. Further de-tails including cost will be advised in the No-vember issue of Connections.

Please come along to any of our meetings which may be of interest to you. We meet in the Session Room at Stamperland Church on a Tuesday night at 7.30pm. We will be very pleased to see you.

Stamperland Church Sanctuary is open on a Wednesday morning from 10.00 o’clock until 12.00 o’clock for quiet con-templation and personal prayer. Tea, coffee and biscuits are available in the vestibule where fellowship can be enjoyed.

Please come and support this activity.

Stamperland Guild

Evelyn Graham, Secretary

Oct 9 Various short films including Wild Scotland Vivienne Macdonald

Oct 16 In House Evening

Oct 23 PROJECT World Mission Council Empowering Teenage Mothers in Zambia

Oct 30 Halloween with Fish Suppers

Nov 6 Dr Graham’s Homes

Nov 13 CHAS

Nov 20 Visit to Strathaven Gift & Coffee Shop

Nov 27 St Andrew’s Night Jill Leavy & Rachael

Stamperland Church Open Door

Parish & Beyond Committee

17.

Following receipt of a collection of former magazines from a

former Minister it allowed the possibility of looking back on church life up to

30 years ago and we have been following progress with extracts from them.

Amongst other things the Session Clerk, Robert Liddel, reported the resigna-

tions of the following ; Scott Brown, Bible Class Sup. Sam Esler, Sunday

School Sup. Janet Stewart, Sunday School Leader, Bill Coulter, Youth Club

Leader. They were thanked for their time and support in their roles. They

were replaced by David McLean Sup. Margaret Armstrong took over as the

Primary Dept and Liz Robb continued in the Beginners. New to the teaching

staff were Mrs Dundas, Irvine, Bruce, Whiteside and Mullen.

Rev D Speed was searching for a sign writer to upgrade sign writing on the

exterior notice board at the corner of Stamperland Gardens.

Jennie Fraser advised that the Christian Aid Sponsored Swim details were

forthcoming following receipt of £315 from a recent house to house collection

in the district.

The Guide Leader Cynthia Martin reported the awarding of over 100 interest

badges during the year which would not have been possible without the as-

sistance of her Asst. Guiders, Margaret Penman, Sylvia Bell, Nancy Fisher

and Alison McCowan. The summer camp was held in Dalintober farm, Oban.

Jean Anderson thanked numerous people for their donations of plants to

adorn the windows over the summer and onward to Christmas.

In the Scouts Graham Weir was the first boy in the 79th troop to be awarded

Chief Scouts Award Certificate by Sir Samuel Curran, Vice Chancellor of

Strathclyde University, at the City Chambers, as reported by Peter Ferris.

The Drama Club donated £25 to Age Concern for their new minibus which

had so far raised £230, and announced they were looking for new members

for future shows.

Vera Reid, Guild President announced the issue of the new Syllabus for the

year and invited all to come along to any or all of their weekly meetings dur-

ing the session. End.

Down Memory Lane in Stamperland

Extracts from Church Magazines in 1968

18.

Shorts

The Rev. Merriweather spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.

Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It's a Terrible Experience."

Today's Sermon: HOW MUCH CAN A MAN DRINK? with hymns from a full choir. Pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to church secretary. Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

Brunch at Netherlee

Following the service on Sunday 28th October at Netherlee Church, we are holding a Brunch.

This will be instead of a "Soup & Pudd" - as we thought it a little early in the day for soup - but don't worry - the puddings will still be available!

Coffee will still be available for those who cannot stay on for Brunch, but we hope that you will have the time to join in the chat and fellowship. All are invited and we hope that some of our Stamperland friends will be able to join us after their service.

If anyone is available to help out either with providing a pudding or a traybake, please get in touch with me, at barbaracochrane857@gmail.com or Marjorie Lang; marjorie35@hotmail.co.uk

By the time you read this swimmers from Clarkston Churches will have participated in

a sponsored swim at Eastwood Baths for Christian Aid.

If you did not sponsor someone from Netherlee and wish to do so there will be a form

on the welcome desk. Please add your name and give any donations to either Walter

or myself, Marjory Lang.

On Saturday 25th August a large group of walkers met at Whitelees Wind Farm in Eaglesham to take part in a sponsored walk for climate change. Some walked 3 miles and some 7 miles.

The weather was kind to us, there was lots of laughter and chat and our special guest the Moderator, Rev Susan Brown completed the 7 mile route. Thanks to everyone who sponsored the event. Vicky Anderson

Sponsored Swim

19.

This evening at 7 pm there will be a hymn sing in the park across

from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

Congregations Personal Message Page

Many thanks to the Rev Scott Blythe for hospital visit during the summer.

Also to Anne for the church flowers. Thanks also for the cards and good

wishes from friends in the church, all of which were very much appreciated.

Betty Wright

I would like to thank every one who has sent cards, phoned, visited, given

me flowers as I have been recovering from my recent accident and opera-

tion. Your kind wishes and care has certainly encouraged me in my recov-

ery. Thank you very much.

Sheena Wurthmann

I would like to thank everyone for the lovely flowers that I recently received

from the Church

Forrest Morton

Starchild would like to sincerely thank Fraser and Margo Neilson for host-ing a terrific Garden Open Weekend at their home. It was wonderful to be able to connect with new friends and share the work of Starchild over such wonderful hospitality and cakes galore!

The garden railway was superb and enthralled young and old alike. They raised £1,300 which has been split between this year’s chosen charities, Starchild and Scottish Autism.

We are so grateful to them for their dedication to this fabulous annual event. This money will help us to keep our Starchild School for Creative Arts going in Uganda and help vulnerable children receive an education. Thank you! From www.starchildcharity.com & www.michaelaonline.com

Alison Macfarlane & Philip Moseley wish to pass on their thanks to Anne McKenzie for the church flowers which they both received during the sum-mer break as a thank you for their work in the Scout Group in Stamperland

20.

1st A Stamperland Brownies have re-started after a lovely sunny summer. We were delighted to welcome some new girls into the pack and equally sad to see some go as they moved up into Guides. We have lots of fun crafts, activities and badge work planned for this year and we are looking forward to getting to know the new programme which has recently been developed and introduced by Girl Guiding.

Alison and I are delighted to welcome Lisa Little as our new and dedicated parent helper. We are also delighted to have several young leaders who are coming along each week to help us out. Some of the girls are in the Guides and are completing their Duke of Edinburgh awards so we are delighted to be able assist with this.

We have a large number of girls within our pack, however with the help we get we are able to sustain this and hope that we don’t have to turn anyone away who wishes to join the organisation. We are so very grateful to Chris-tine who has an equally large pack of Guides however, does not turn away our Brownies who make the transition up to Guides meaning Stamperland can have a seamless flow from Rainbows to Brownies and from Brownies to Guides.

We look forward to bringing you further information of our weekly activities as we progress through the next few weeks, and yes, we are already planning for Christmas!!

On 25th August the annual cycle, 'Pedalling For The Homeless' took place. It's aim is to raise funds and awareness of the incredible work the Lodging House Mission do to help those in our city less fortunate than ourselves. A big thank you to all who supported the intrepid team of Niall, Gordon, Hel-en M., Caroline and Helen I. The total raised was £902 ....a great effort from all concerned.

Looking forward to seeing more folks next year on the starting line. Hopefully by that time we'll all be off the fluffy cushions !

End

1st A Stamperland Brownies

Kirsty Stewart & Alison Gill

Lodging House Mission—Cycle

Gordon Lang

21.

Welcome back to all our Sunday Clubbers! As our lovely summer draws to a close, the Sunday Club has the opportunity to reflect on the beauty all around us. We use Scripture Union resources and the first series of lessons is all about Creation. We are exploring the ‘Wow!’ factor and think about the power and majesty of God. We have been model making, slithering snakes as well as taking time just to look at all that God has made. As we move into October we will think about breaking and keeping promises as we learn about God faithfully keeping his promise to Abraham.

We have welcomed P1s Anna, Brodie and Duncan and we are sometimes joined by the pre-school Sunbeams including Eilidh. We are enjoying getting to know them all and they are enjoying our games whilst looking at our Bible Stories with their own resources. Moving to the Upper Hall this year has giv-en us more space to call our own.

Our Senior Sunday Club continues this year. (S1 and beyond!) After attend-ing the first part of the service together, the Senior Clubbers enjoy some hot chocolate before reflecting on different themes. Consumerism and Pocket Money – given or earned - were the first talking points, as was how not to explode milk in the microwave! The group have also been discussing ideas as to how they can participate in our worship services and fundraise for our charities. The change of time raises the question – Is 11am too early for soup? I am sure we will find out. The Senior Sunday Clubbers have also been invited to the manse where they will be encouraged to use their mo-biles! All will be revealed next month.

All primary and secondary school age children are welcome to join us, whether this is for the first time, regularly, occasionally or just as a visitor. Join us in the Welcome Hall from 9.45 am and why not bring a friend? We have stories, crafts, songs, games, drama, challenges and treats too. Over the coming session we look forward to opportunities to get to know our Step-ping Stones friends from Stamperland better. We all understand the varying pressures from activities and parties on a Sunday, so if an earlier time is bet-ter one week, for any reason, children from Stamperland will be very wel-come to join us. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married?

A.Ruthless.

Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?

A. Samson. He brought the house down.

Netherlee Sunday Club & Senior Sunday Club

Elaine Murray

22.

For those who do not know me, my name is Anne Mann

and I am the local Poppyscotland area organiser.

This year I plan to continue the door to door collections along with the collec-

tions in Sainsbury's at Muirend.

As well as the above collections I am organising 3 events.

1) Floral Demonstration entitled "Flowers with Frances” 10th October

at 7.30pm in the lesser sanctuary at Netherlee Church. Tickets £5 from

Anne Mann.

2) Coffee Morning - 10th November 2018, 10am till noon, Large Hall,

Netherlee Church, Tickets £2 for adults and £1 for children

3) Family Beetle Drive - 16th February 2019 at 7pm in Large Hall Neth-

erlee Church, Tickets £3 for adults and £1 children.

Contributions of baking, tombola and raffle prizes will be greatly appreciated.

Anyone who feels that they can help this year's appeal in any way should get

in touch with me on 01355 231885 , email me at John.mann4@sky.com or

speak with me at Church.

Stamperland Flower Calendar

Contact Mrs May Paterson—0141 571 8652

7th Oct Mrs S Neil 14th Oct Mrs E Graham

21st Oct Mrs C Ferguson 28th Oct Miss O Greer

4th Nov Miss G Scott 11th Nov Mrs S Jamieson

18th Nov Mrs K Bolton 25th Nov Miss E Robb &

Mrs J Cranston

Poppyscotland 2018 Appeal

Anne Mann—Netherlee 01355 231885

2018 marks the centenary since the Armistice of 1918. Let us make

this year's appeal worthy of our Heroes.

23.

Netherlee Summer Services

It was pointed out to me that I omitted to include in the September edition of LINK a vote of thanks to Barbara, Marjorie and the team of ladies who pro-vided breakfast for us at 9.00 am prior to worship at 10.00 am. Those who made use of this service are very grateful to them for all their efforts and for the great variety of breakfast items on offer to us – it rivalled many of the best hotel breakfast buffets. Our thanks to you all.

May I also thank the rota teams who provided tea and coffee after the ser-vices during the summer. It was noticeable that more members of the con-gregation came into the Large Hall after the service and that they stayed much longer too, enjoying the chat and fellowship. I wonder if there is a mes-sage there for us?

Danish Choir Concert in Netherlee

The Danish Soborg Motet Choir from the outskirts of Copenhagen visited Scotland and put on a number of concerts during their visit notably in Paisley Abbey, and held their final concert in Netherlee on Monday 10 September for the church and the local Commu-nity. The choir of approximately 50 members performed a wide reper-toire of older and newer classical music. Approximately 80 people at-tended on a wet Monday evening and were treated to a very high standard of choral performance un-der the direction of their conductor Klaus Munk-Nielsen. The choir made no charge for their perfor-mance but were delighted that any donations would go to the Church. Some £210 was donated which will go towards the James Findlay Nel-son Trust Fund to encourage faith development in young people. Our thanks for a most uplifting evening of music and to all who supported this event.

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Vote of Thanks for Past Events

John Montgomery

24.

For the past fifteen years the Netherlee Forum has met monthly over the winter months. The Forum has hosted a wide range of speakers provide in-teresting, controversial, informative, entertaining, enlightening and engaging evenings.

This year’s programme we hope will have a similar impact. The meetings are on the third Monday of the month in the Lesser Sanctuary of Netherlee Church from October to March. We look forward to an interesting programme and invite you to join us for the talks and the opportunity for discussion and further chat over tea and coffee.

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Preacher on a Horse

A preacher trained his horse to go when he said, "Praise the Lord," and to stop when he said, "Amen." The preacher mount-ed the horse, said, "Praise the Lord" and went for a ride. When he wanted to stop for lunch, he said, "Amen." He took off again, saying, "Praise the Lord." The horse started going toward the edge of a cliff. The preacher got excited and said, "Whoa!" Then he remembered and said, "Amen," and the horse stopped at the edge of the cliff. The preacher was so relieved and grateful that he looked up to heaven and said, "Praise the Lord!"

The Netherlee Forum

Sheena Wurtherman

Programme 2018 - 2019

22nd Oct Niall Illingworth Policing - Time for a Re-Think Niall is a retired police officer and will give us an insight into modern policing.

19th Nov Very Rev John Chalmers The former Moderator of the Church of Scotland will look at state of the Church of Scotland and include his view of its future shape.

17th Dec Dr. Lesley Orr (Edinburgh) “Building the New Jerusalem” Religious Dimensions of Women’s Suffrage, Citizenship and Protest in Scotland.

21st Jan Dr. Valerie Wright (Glasgow) Women, Rent Strikes and Red Clydeside.

18th Feb Bill McDougall “Football and Security”

18th Mar Dr Simon Cuthbert (West of Scotland) Geology of Greenland

25.

At the time of writing the 79th Scout Group has only been back for a week, but all 4 sec-tions are getting to know new members and planning out their activities and programme for the new session.

Cubs are looking forward to a weekend away at Auchengillan at the start of October which is always a highlight for the Cubs. They will be taking part in activities run by the centre, including Climbing, canoeing and Lazer Tag, as well as having fun with games, learning some new skills and of course a campfire.

Scouts and Explorer sections are also looking at outings to go bowling, kart-ing, to Laser Quest and more along with regular meeting nights in the halls.

Beavers, Cubs and Scout sections are currently full, which is great, but does mean we currently have waiting lists for people looking to join us.

As with other youth organisations we are always on the lookout for additional adult volunteers to help the leadership team, especially for our Beaver and Scout sections. We are a close team and plenty of support is available for anyone looking to put back into the local community and you will get a lot out of it personally. If you are interested in helping (even on a flexible basis) then please contact me on the details below, or via our Facebook page.

Please visit our page to see some of what we get up to: https://www.facebook.com/Stamperland79th/

Philip Moseley (Cub Scout Leader on behalf of all the leaders) Tel: 0780 398 7020

Before the summer break the Cubs held a sleepover at Loch Lomond Sea Life Centre – sleeping under the sharks and fishes – a great night!

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Necessary Objects

I was telling my three boys the story of the Nativity and how the Wise Men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the infant Je-sus. After giving it a lot of thought, my six-year-old observed, "Mom,

a Wise Woman would have brought nappies."

26.

Now that Stamperland and Netherlee churches are linked, and share one Minister,

some might feel a little unease knowing changes are likely, but are not sure what they

may be. Well, neither do we, but you may be surprised to learn that we have both

known each other for many years because of a union of two churches.

Let’s go back to the early 70’s when there was Queen’s Park High Parish Church in

Queen’s Drive and half a mile away, Crosshill Victoria Church in Dixon Avenue. I had

been brought up in Queen’s Park High and Gordon in Crosshill Victoria. We had unit-

ed services in summer, but little else to do with one another. Congregation numbers

were going down, a glorious history of packed churches, a wonderful pipe organ,

lovely stained-glass window, and the highest steeple in the south side of Glasgow,

meant nothing when the gaps in the pews were the only thing that was growing!!

Crosshill was a vacant charge and there was much talk of a Union. I can’t say people

really wanted union, but it was inevitable. I clearly remember the Queen’s Park High

Parish Church minister, Rev Ian Robertson, addressing the congregation before a

vote on the way forward was taken. He said clearly,

“If you want it to work it will work, and if you are looking for problems, then you will find

plenty of them”. The Churches united to become Crosshill Queens Park Parish

Church.

Now I am not going to say it was a runaway success on day one. There were some

early teething problems to sort out, but with two wonderful Session Clerks, one from

each church, to guide us, we soon found ourselves working nicely together.

This settling in period was soon followed by the departure of the Rev Ian Robertson,

then after a short vacancy, we had a new style of leadership from the wonderful Bill

Marsh, a person well known in Netherlee church.

Sadly, Bill’s time was greatly troubled with bad health and tragically an early death, but

he kept us together and was a remarkable man who inspired many people.

So, what happened to Crosshill Queen’s Park? Like so many churches in the

Queen’s Park area, it finally closed. The building still stands today and has been con-

verted into 18 flats.

Us + Them = All of Us.

By Connell Cranston & Gordon Robertson – Stamp-

erland Church

27.

Did we HAVE to unite? Yes

Were new friendships formed? Yes

Do they still exist? Yes, they do.

Have faith in the future and keep on smiling.

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Crosshill Victoria became vacant when the Rev Russell Hamilton moved in the early

70’s. The congregations of Crosshill Victoria, in Dixon Dr and Queen’s Park High in

Queen’s Dr were both losing members, and services in July and August became joint to

allow for Minister’s holidays, being only a month in those days. The increasing mainte-

nance and repair costs resulted in Crosshill seeking a union with a neighbouring church.

Talks were held with Queen’s Park West, in Queen’s Dr, Govanhill in Daisy St, New

Bridgegate in Dixon Rd and Queen’s Park High.

The Men’s Association Crosshill Victoria already had ties with Govanhill and many felt a

union was a distinct possibility, however, the vote favoured Queen’s Park High. Session

Clerks Alf Dunbar (Crosshill Victoria) and Jim McKay (Queen’s Park High) guided both

congregations into a meaningful union. Their friendship was an inspiration to many in

the unified church.

A few years late, two families, one from each church were brought together with the

marriage of Elizabeth and Alistair Wishart, and we all lived happily ever after.

I have no doubt, given the chance, the linkage between Netherlee and Stamperland will be just as successful as there are a number of former members of Stamperland, now members of Netherlee.

The Old Eastwood Stamp Club meets in Netherlee fortnightly on a Monday evening commencing on October 8th. The Club is currently small with an average attendance of 10-12 members. .

We have an interesting Syllabus for 2018/2019 which includes displays by visiting Club members along with our own displays.

If you are interested in stamps and collecting, please contact our Secretary, Ray Baldock on 638 5138, or alternatively join us on the 8th for more infor-mation.

Netherlee Stamp Club

Ramsay McKinnon

28.

‘Stars’ for Starchild The Force is Strong with this Event.

Sunday Nov 4th, 2018 10am – 5pm

Shawlands Academy 31 Moss-Side Road, G41 3TR,

Adults £6, Kids under 12yrs £4, under 5yrs free Tickets from Rony and Michaela or at the door

A very special day is happening on November 4th at Shawlands Academy. Organised by Starchild and pupils from the Communication Support Ser-vice for autism at Williamwood High School.

Local actor and playwright Rony Bridges AKA The Admiral in The Star Wars film – The Force Awakens is helping to rally some friends for a fun filled day for all the family to meet the ‘Stars’ Chewbacca, Storm-troopers, Darth Vader, Captain Phasma, Batman, Daleks, Spiderman, Captain Jack Sparrow, R2D2 and many more.

Some actors will be making guest appearances alongside profes-sional costume characters. There will be a chance to get autographs and photographs with all your favourite characters.

All this is happening to support Starchild Charity to help raise aware-ness about autism in Uganda.

This is your chance to be surrounded by your favourite costumed heroes, creatures and pop culture enthusiasts.

Kids of all ages are invited to dress up as their favourite sci-fi or car-toon characters – you could win a prize!

Comic books, cartoons, toys, face painting and free play sci-fi table games by Common Ground Games. Original collectible toys from D&N Toys.

Great photo opportunities

Themed cakes, drinks, raffles, games and so much more.